Arcane Mage Netherlight Crucible Recommendations

This section of the Arcane Mage Guide explains the best relic trait choices for the Netherlight Crucible, a new system of artifact weapon progression added in Patch 7.3 Legion. This guide is written by Malon, who raids with <Omen> on Emerald Dream EU; his lifelong ambition is to have the Warlock class renamed to 'Fuzzy Cuddlebears'. Find him on Twitter and at Altered-Time mage forums.

Netherlight Crucible Overview

The Netherlight Crucible is a new feature in patch 7.3 that allows you to empower your relics with additional traits. It has the power to turn a previously mediocre relic into a good one, if you get lucky with the trait options it randomly rolls. For this reason, it's a good idea to always preview a relic's potential traits before you use it or throw it away. Even relics of significantly lower item level have the potential to be better than those of a higher level with the right traits.

There are three tiers of traits for each relic: the first tier adds five item levels; the second tier is a choice between a light or shadow power; and the third tier is a choice between one of three weapon traits. You can only choose one trait from each tier. In order to fully unlock the Netherlight Crucible you will need to get your artifact up to level 75, but you will earn your first light or shadow trait at artifact level 60 (and then get a new trait every three levels from there). Note that the trait options are randomly rolled for each relic, so if you equip a new relic you will have to choose new traits at the Crucible.

Below we have provided a very basic ranking of the Netherlight Crucible traits, from best to worst. Arcane, like other Mage specs, gets the most value from the damage procs like Tourment des faibles. For artifact traits, we recommend prioritising those listed as optimal later in this guide, or simply simming yourself - for example, using the new Raidbots relic tool.

Disclaimer: These values can change slightly based on your legendaries, overall ilevel, and talent choices. These numbers were obtained by simulating the recommended tier 20 gear and talents from this guide, using the default Mythic T20 profile. If you have the knowledge, we recommend simming your own relic options since ilevel value isn't a very precise unit of measurement. This is intended to help you quickly make relic and Crucible decisions, but it can never be 100% accurate for every character. Since these values were generated before the Crucible was unlocked, they are subject to change if it's found out they weren't being simulated properly. In such a case, this guide will be updated.

With the opening of Antorus, le Trône ardent, it is now possible to obtain Insigne de la grande armée, which increases the potency of your Tier 2 Crucible traits by 50%. It might be a really strong legendary if you are lucky with Netherlight Crucible rolls!

AoE Damage Traits

Purification arcanique and Chagrins noirs are more difficult to rank, since most of their value comes in pure AoE situations. If you spend a lot of time in Mythic+ it can be worthwhile to take these traits, but generally you want to focus on the others since they have value in all situations.

More Crucible Guides

Here are links to all Netherlight Crucible recommendations on Wowhead, covering all specializations: